Prompt Fills
by tunnelOFdawn
Summary: Tumblr prompt fills: [1] Can you do a happy fluffy Natsume fic involving winter holidays? If you wanna do shippy I'd like TanuNatsu; [2] Can you do Matoba Seiji&Natori Shuuich? Anything is fine
1. winter tanunatsu

Snow accumulate in piles that teeter in the winter wind. The winter sun is so weak that illumination is an afterthought. The dregs of it linger, desperate to gain a foothold. It's fingernails scrabbling on a ledge. Only a matter of time before it all ends. But that ending will only be the start of something new. In the winter weather, there comes a yearning for warmth—the warmth of heaters, the warmth of hot drinks, and the warmth of skin on skin. Winter is a reunion of people. Sometimes it's a reunion of people you do _not_ want to interact with.

A high-pitched yowl (almost a weirdly human cackle if you listen close) reverberates through the room. Muffled thuds leak outside the enclosed room. An indignant voice shouts out "Sensei!" Within the room, there is a tangle of amber and black hair on a futon with long limbs entwined as a kerosene heater enfolds them in warm bliss. In between two lean forms, a rotund cat purrs happily.

"You're heavy, cat! Get off!" Takashi cries. A fist rises in preparation of releasing all irritation, only to be gently covered by long fingers. He has his grandmother's quick temper, Madara thinks. A soft huff of laughter escapes Takashi's companion, Kaname.

"Deal with it," Madara grumbles. For such a small creature, there is a heaviness to his form that renders Takashi and Kaname still. It must be that huge head of his, Kaname muses uncharitably.

"I'd rather _not_ ," Takashi argues. Kaname watches Takashi and Ponta fondly. These are the best sort of times—when Takashi is so free and unreserved with his emotions. He is always at his most expressive when with Ponta. He never tries to limit himself with a facade of politeness and a reluctance that would bury his heart under layers of well-meaning intentions. When you get to the heart of the matter, Takashi is a passionate person, who feels so much that he had resolved to never again feel the sting of hurt. But these days, Takashi is opening up to family and friends with all the hard-won beauty of a flower blooming after a long winter.

"Naughty boy," Madara mutters, "cuddling without me—me, your poor, pitiful bodyguard who slaves day after day after your fool self. Me, your lowly, dedicated servant who—"

Takashi laughs. His hands roughly pass over Madara's not-fur, going against the grain and riling up Madara even more. "You? Poor? Pitiful? Lowly? Dedicated? More like fat off too much sweets and drunk off sake, you glutton!" Takashi teases. "Don't think I can't smell the sake off you right now! You're making the whole room smell and I'm not explaining to Touko-san _again_ why my room smells like alcohol."

Madara harrumphs and slides off Takashi's form entirely in favor of clambering onto Kaname. Kaname obligingly pets him. "See! This is how a _good_ human acts!"

Takashi's lips twists in a moue of distaste—a pout he will deny ever expressing. He misses Kaname's hands on him, before Nyanko-sensei had so rudely interrupted with his usual tact, or lack thereof, and bluster.

"Thanks, Ponta," Kaname murmurs, with a sly look cast at Takashi. His lips curve up and unwillingly, Takashi smiles back.

Takashi does not look forward to shaking off Madara off their trail tomorrow. He always manages to interfere at the precise time he is not needed and wander off when he should not. Takashi wants Christmas Eve to be as enjoyable as possible. He had never thought _before_ that he would get the opportunity to engage in the normal, in the mundane. Christmas Eve is a couples' holiday and shyly, greedily, Takashi has _plans (_ and if they're influenced by Touko-san's dramas and Nishimura's fumbling advice, _well_ , Kaname doesn't have to know).

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 **A/N: Actually posted on Nov. 24 on AO3. I'm more active on AO3 and tumblr. I'm also tunnelOFdawn on both. I take prompts on my tumblr and post fic previews and drabbles. On AO3, I post author notes indicating chapter amounts or other commentary.**

 **Prompt was:** **Can you do a happy fluffy Natsume fic involving winter holidays? If you wanna do shippy I'd like TanuNatsu**


	2. matoba & natori

She watches blond and black hair intertwine as the black-haired man bends his head to whisper into the blond's ear. Only the low susurration of the voice reaches her ears, but she finds meaning embedded in the blond's shifting expressions. The mobility of his face is what makes Natori Shuuichi, her castmate, such a good actor. Though, perhaps, Natori wishes even now that his expressive face could be as composed as his dark companion. He can be stunningly private at times, she knows, but his face always betrays him.

Or maybe she knows Natori well enough to decipher his expressions. After all, Natori Shuuichi and Naoki Hisae are Japan's most beloved actor and actress. They had even starred in many a film together—an iconic duo. But even after this long together, there is still an insurmountable distance between the two. Oh, he is very friendly and charming but there is an emptiness beneath that facade that does not invite further interaction. In fact, look at him now! He and his brother hold off to the side from the set. Natori does not even introduce his brother to the others. As if he could not bear this infringement on his professional life by his personal life.

"Of course, onii- _sama_ ," Natori says, clear and audible. There's a curious inflection on the suffix. Hisae would almost characterize the suffix as a joking formality, if not for the resignation imbuing the suffix. It's also an odd usage since she's fairly sure that Natori is the older brother ("My little brother," he had said with lips that twist, "is very particular."). His brow has minute furrows running through that belie the conviction in his voice.

Natori's brother—Matoba Seiji, she finally recalls—separates from Natori. An alien expression crosses Matoba's fine-boned face. A smile tilts up the corners of his mouth with a chilling mechanical precision. It could just be that Natori's brother is just socially awkward but maybe, there really is nothing underneath that lovely flesh and bone. Her meager observation of him sends chills down her spine. She cannot comprehend how Natori could have grown up with _that_.

Hisae watches Natori who stares after Matoba's retreating form. A tension she had not noticed (it rankles to see how unknowable Natori can be) eases off Natori's shoulders. He lets out a little exhale and his eyes wander away until they meet Hisae's gaze. A blinding smile lights his face—a luminescence that warms the air around him. He runs a hand through his hair and sets off a few giggles from the huddle of female extras gathered off to the side.

Hisae arches a brow and sidles up to him. "Onii-sama, hmm?" she says. The most refreshing thing about Natori is that she never has to beat around the bush with him. She doesn't have to charm him because any efforts are futile.

Natori laughs. It is not one of his pretty, charming laughs that enthrall, but rather something rough and gnarled like lightning-struck oak. "When we were kids," he says wistfully, "Seiji could never abide by being the younger one. He was a spoiled brat—still is. Used to throw tantrums. Always had to get his way." The fond reminiscence turns into a brotherly disdain that reminds Hisae of her own contentious relationship with her siblings. But there is something darker lurking in that tone of his—the repression of memories arising with each recollection.

Hisae prides herself on her intuitiveness and her people skills. It takes more than beauty and acting skill to get as far in her career as she has. It takes intelligence—emotional intelligence to successfully navigate the perilous acting world. The people who applaud you will just as easily mock you. She thinks Natori has experience with that phenomenon—too much experience.

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 **A/N: Actually posted on Nov. 24 on AO3. I'm more active on AO3 and tumblr. I'm also tunnelOFdawn on both. I take prompts on my tumblr and post fic previews and drabbles. On AO3, I post author notes indicating chapter amounts or other commentary.**

 **Prompt was:** **Can you do Matoba Seiji &Natori Shuuich? Anything is fine**


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